Petsmart problems

[haydenm14]

Here we go with another pet store problem.... so everyone knows how pet stores don’t take good care of their animals. I thought I had seen some big mistakes but the one I saw yesterday made me so so so so so mad. I was at the Petsmart in Florence, Kentucky, USA and I saw their chameleon enclosure. Just one small box about 8” high x 12” back x 8” wide. The problem was they had 2 in there. One looked to be a year old and the other half that probably. I told the people but they just said we know. I wish I could sue these people

 

[CamrynTheCham22]

I have seen things exactly like that in my area. I went to Petco and saw them with a dripper that dripped right into some brown water, didn't even hit a leaf. Horrible conditions. I haven't seen chameleons being sold at Petco for quite some time now, maybe half a year, so maybe someone is doing something about it.

 

[JapSolum]

my first cham was from petsmart, did not know a lot about them at that point. or I probably would've stayed away all together. was in an all acrylic tank with no ventilation, with a fogger going, looked like it was probably 90%+ humidity. his health declined every day after I bought him. i learned all the things they were doing wrong and hoped I could get him better, but couldn't. pretty sure he was already in late stages of a respiratory issue. so I took him back to get looked at, said they'd buy him back, get him in better health, and let me know when hes better in case I wanted him back. bought my next one from a breeder. but I've been in there a couple times since, and there's no sign of him... poor guy

 

[CamrynTheCham22]

I actually bought my veiled from PetCo when they still carried chameleons. I knew that they had bad conditions there, but it was more on a whim and I am never buying another pet from a chain pet store again. She is very healthy right now, if not a little small for her age. I believe I got lucky, or maybe the chameleons weren't in the chain store's care for very long. the size issues are most likely from the chain store.
I am so sorry @JapSolum. That is so sad! How long ago was that?

 

[Char333p]

They don't hire people with proper specific care experience. The cham cages always look so dry and have improper lighting.. I know this is chameleon forum but I was at Petco the other day and I saw the hamster cage an felt so bad. The water bottle leaked they had no water and 95% the bedding was soaked!

 

[haydenm14]

They don't hire people with proper specific care experience. The cham cages always look so dry and have improper lighting.. I know this is chameleon forum but I was at Petco the other day and I saw the hamster cage an felt so bad. The water bottle leaked they had no water and 95% the bedding was soaked!

funny thing about my petsmart is they do have a reptile expert. He’s told me about all his reptiles he’s had and he even had a veiled at one point. Like how do u live with yourself knowing a precious reptile is just dying right in front of your eyes. I almost sometimes want to quit my job and work at one so I can make it a great place for the animals.

 

[bobcochran]

It's commendable you're trying to change things at the box pet stores, but it's like banging your head against the wall. Except banging your head against the wall may be more productive.

 

[haydenm14]

It's commendable you're trying to change things at the box pet stores, but it's like banging your head against the wall. Except banging your head against the wall may be more productive.

hahahahahaha i want to talk to their corporate and tell them to do it right or every store i go to i will sue because there is animal negligence.

 

[CamrynTheCham22]

When I see animal negligence, I often report it to some kind of animal welfare agency. Of course, you can't really do that with the chain stores because even if they treat the animals a little better after getting reported, they just get lazy again, and everything's back to how it was. Very sad.

 

[haydenm14]

When I see animal negligence, I often report it to some kind of animal welfare agency. Of course, you can't really do that with the chain stores because even if they treat the animals a little better after getting reported, they just get lazy again, and everything's back to how it was. Very sad.

i think if lots of people here make a fuss about it to one chain store like petsmart we can change it but we need lots of help with it. we need like at least 200 reports probably and then they have to go to corporate.

 

[JapSolum]

i think if lots of people here make a fuss about it to one chain store like petsmart we can change it but we need lots of help with it. we need like at least 200 reports probably and then they have to go to corporate.

I think the best you could hope for is they stop carrying chams all together (which I wouldn't really consider a loss). but those stores are all about bottom line. you're never going to get them to care for animals more. never going to get them to pay decent wages for experts on each of the animals they carry. and never going to shell out the extra money to take care of them the way they should be. it all about making CEO money, not making the animals happy. only way to change it is to do a nation wide protest that actually affects the CEOs wallet, and there's plenty of animal rights groups who have tried and got nowhere, so I think that's a losing battle.

 

[CamrynTheCham22]

I think the best you could hope for is they stop carrying chams all together (which I wouldn't really consider a loss). but those stores are all about bottom line. you're never going to get them to care for animals more. never going to get them to pay decent wages for experts on each of the animals they carry. and never going to shell out the extra money to take care of them the way they should be. it all about making CEO money, not making the animals happy. only way to change it is to do a nation wide protest that actually affects the CEOs wallet, and there's plenty of animal rights groups who have tried and got nowhere, so I think that's a losing battle.

Actually at the PetCo near me, I haven't seen chameleons in their care for a long time now. Maybe, 5 months so far. This might actually mean there is a change. Hopefully we will all get to see things such as this in the near future.

 

[JacksJill]

I protest with my wallet everyday. I don't even buy dog supplies in chain pet stores. Only in a dire emergency will I buy anything like feeders for surprise babies there. I buy everything on line or from a good mom & pop store. I'm lucky that I live near a major bug supplier.
I know a few forum members work at chain stores and do the best they can with the limits set by the company. Some members have complained enough that their local chain store stopped carrying chameleons. I believe someone composed a letter on here for folks to send to the chain store of their choice.

 

[VerucaSalt]

We bought our Jackson at Petco. Total misinformation the entire expierence. He also had the dripper going straight down into a bowl. No ventilation, barely readable humidity, red light all night, and barely a twig to stand on in the enclosure. The employee mentioned he could be housed with others also.

He has the best personality, always is green and active when out of his cage, eats well, drinks well....he literally come to the door of the cage when he's done eating to hang out on your shoulder.

It's been a nightmate learning curve. I'm not sure he will be healthy and he has displayed concernerning conditions since we brought him home, tho they of course say he is perfectly healthy, without testing him, but literally going off observation for a minute.

I will not buy anything thru the chains now as a result. This whole experience has drained me when it should've been a wholly positive thing. I wish that I had spent just a little time investigating the source of where I was buying him vrs all the time learning husbandry over the yr before purchasing.

I'm hopeful with the warm weather he will continue to improve in health w/the proper feeding/lighting/caging intact now, but learned my lesson very quickly on this one. It's disgusting they carry so many animals they are incapable of caring for.

 

[VerucaSalt]

Actually at the PetCo near me, I haven't seen chameleons in their care for a long time now. Maybe, 5 months so far. This might actually mean there is a change. Hopefully we will all get to see things such as this in the near future.

We bought our Jackson at the local Petco unfortunately. He was replaced by a MTN horned lizard. The geeko, dragons and others are all sickly appearing and being cared for incorrectly, some more extremely and some less. It's sad to see.

 

[JapSolum]

We bought our Jackson at the local Petco unfortunately. He was replaced by a MTN horned lizard. The geeko, dragons and others are all sickly appearing and being cared for incorrectly, some more extremely and some less. It's sad to see.

it is sad, but it seems like you went through what I did, and in a way you can think of it a cham bootcamp. it forces you to learn very quickly and very thoroughly how to take care of them to try and get them healthy again. and where as the store is wrong, you can at least be proud that you saved your cham from a much worse fate... kind of like going to a rescue... except you're paying the bad owners (usually, way too much) for the chance to rescue him.

 

[VerucaSalt]

it is sad, but it seems like you went through what I did, and in a way you can think of it a cham bootcamp. it forces you to learn very quickly and very thoroughly how to take care of them to try and get them healthy again. and where as the store is wrong, you can at least be proud that you saved your cham from a much worse fate... kind of like going to a rescue... except you're paying the bad owners (usually, way too much) for the chance to rescue him.

You're absolutely right. This forced me to research so many variables, it has allowed a fine tuning of the Jackson husbandry as well....that is a good way to turn it into a more positive expierence.

He will be at min have a better environment whatever the outcome maybe.

Im also happy to have had the forums available, and wish I wouldevw stumbled in months back, but his health lead me here as well--and honestly, all the reading and various sites I spent time are quite outdated, so I'm happy to be amongst so many expierenced caregivers!

 

[CamrynTheCham22]

When you buy them from chain stores, you really have to compensate for all of the poor care they received in the store. I bought my veiled from Petco when they still carried chameleons, and thankfully they had just gotten a brand new shipment (I hate the fact that they are just shipped in regularly no matter how many are left in the enclosure) so my girl hadn't been in their care for very long. She is still a runt, which is most likely from her early days being juggled around from pet store to pet store, but thankfully she hasn't had any other issues regarding her health.
It such a risk buying chams from pet stores, or really any pet that comes from a chain store.